Billups and McDyess Traded for Iverson

“The Detroit Pistons have reached a tentative agreement to trade Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Neither player was at this morning’s shoot-around. Team officials said that more information would be forthcoming later today.”

This is a interesting move by Dumars. Chauncey was obviously starting to show his age a bit, and with another year on the treads of him as well as sheed it was unlikely we were going to win it all. Adding a rejuvenated iverson could improve the team. However, I dont see it making that much of a difference in the long hall. What will make a difference is the huge amount of cap space we will have after this year with the expiring deals of iverson and sheed. Carlos Boozer anyone?

AI has an expiring contract meaning we are now HUGE players in the FA market the next couple years. AI and Sheed’s contracts expiring= 35 million dollars expiring next yr! we can make a play for almost anyone. and the upcoming FA class is amazing.

Billups is on the decline and his contract of 4 years was gonna kill us in the future.

We are now faster, can push the ball A LOT with our athletic lineup of AI, Rip, Tay, Amir and Sheed…it is a perfect lineup to run. And then the bench of Stuck, Afflalo, Walter, Max and Kwame is also a great athletic lineup.

I’ll believe that this is a good trade when AI gets out on the court with the team… Sad to see Billups and Dyess and Samb go but I guess Joe is shooting for a good offseason with the cap room we’re gunna have… Oh well….

I am furious george right now!!! Yeah we all knew a trade was going to happen, but I hate to see our leader go. I guess i am going to have to see how this is going to work out also. I don’t think billups was our problem, we have stuckey. I love AI but his age is the same as billups. Guess we will have to watch how this will work. Time for Maxiell to show how great of a player he is!

I think this is a garbage trade at worst and a so-so trade at best. Iverson has always been overrated. If we were trading Billups for AI and just throwing in a piece of junk, no problem. But AI won’t get us over the hump and would he actually work in a team concept? Questionable deal. Besides, why aren’t we getting a better deal from Denver? They practically gave Camby away for a song!

This is crazy how am I supposed to react. This website very well could of been Need4Chauncy.com that is gonna be the worst part chauncy been with us for what 6 years now? at least he’ll get to live close too his family which i believe is all in Denver. who knows though we’ve made it pretty far with him and also people who haven’t though of them selves as starts like AI. but he should be alright

I’m a big Dyess fan, and they just got his jerseys at the Palace too. However, his playing time has been cut way back, so I don’t think we will really notice his absense, sadly.
As for Iverson and Billups? I think Iverson will fit better into the Curry offense, and the expiring contracts are nice.

Brilliant trade. We get a superstar top-five scorer in Iverson while unloading tons of cash at the same time. Next year, A.I. and Sheed’s contracts are up and we can go after a huge free agent or save that cap space for the storied 2010 class. Not only that, but we hopefully get hungrier. A.I. wants a ‘ship; Chauncey’s already got his.

God Joe Dumars couldn’t make a good decision to save his life (at least the last couple years) They better waive Antonio and bring him back, But I hate Allen Iverson’s game. Antonio is my favorite and if they trade Antonio for good then I’m boycotting the Pistons (I’m not saying I’m going to stop cheering for them just not watch or participate and silently grumbling the whole time.) Seriously Joe make a good decision for once, how can someone so good at judging draft talent suck so bad at judging experienced talent. He needs John Hammond back because he is really starting to annoy me. Why can’t he find an actually good player and not a good stat player? And anyone saying Dyess is expendable is not watching close.

This is a good move.
Dyess’s minutes are way down because of Amir, Max, and Kwame.
And even if Iverson is declining, he’s still an upgrade over Chauncey. If we can get Dyess back, even better. And the only way Samb was going to get burn was if Dyess got traded. Samb gets traded, it doesn’t hurt the Pistons, it hurts the Mad Ants.

there ya go brent. But you’re post might get removed cause of the language but that’s pretty much what went through my mind. Though I love Joe D as a person.

I agree amber I think we’re getting the raw end of
the deal

Hold it in Lynda

This reminds me of the Jason Kidd trade, except even worse than that. All I know about AI is that he can’t play d, he’s selfish as frick (just because you get assists doesn’t mean you’re unselfish, and he complained about not liking to practice (although not sure how true that is) And truth be told I can’t believe Joe D gave up Cheikh Samb as well.

amrican.. nothing like kidd trade.. we didnt send stuckey for iverson! wow ur all rediculous! this team wasnt going anywhere! we have a chance again! boston and cleveland is shitting their pants now! AI is a headache.

And by the way we have enough people on this team that want to shoot the basketball, AI will probably shoot more shots than the whole team. Joe missed out on AI one time and we won a championship, so now what does he do? he goes out and gets him again. Sometimes you should let sleeping dogs lye

Ha and Steve we actually love our team and the guys on it and are not cold pricks. I agree with American tho AI doesn’t play D and hates to practice I see this turning into a headache rather than a so called CURE. It’s cool that we’ll get dyess back tho!

I’m not saying there shouldn’t of been a trade, I just don’t like Allen Iverson in this trade, just think he’s overrated. And what I meant by the Jason Kidd thing was that a team expects a point guard to come in without a training camp and run the offense this isn’t like a Sheed trade where he could come in and play d, we’ll still be good but I don’t think championship good.

^^ Well no one is hating on AI’s abilities.. We’re hating his character if anything… So in a month if he’s the AI of old then yess we will be hating if not then sure we’ll be jumping on the bandwagon and all you guys can say that you were right…PSH

I am in love with chauncey! it’s so sad to see him go. you don’t even know..I was absolutely obsessed with him. I don’t think this makes our team better at all. But having Rip and AI side by side sounds good.

Are you guys kidding me!!! AI plays the Hardest in the allstar games. He was also the hardest player when he was on team USA. How could you question his heart?! I think his toughness will bring positive energy to our team. He’s a great defender, much quicker than Chauncy.

mixed feeling right now. im just really glad that Dyess said that he wont put on a nuggets jersey. that shows that he wants to be in Detroit, and at the end if we can get dyess back that means that we will have traded chauncey and cheick for AI which seems pretty good.
I am sad cause i like chauncey and cheick and dyess but happy since AI is coming over and we all know what he can do.
People were not so sure about the Sheed trade in 04 and who knows how this one will end up.
In Joe D I Trust.

gmac
I’ve seen the allstar games and that is not NBA basketball it’s basically (as many have said)a pick up game. And by the way getting steals doesn’t make you a good defender it just means you gamble more, and if you don’t get the steal, a lot of times it is hard to recover. Tayshaun is a good defender and he doesn’t get a lot of steals many of the good ones do. Heck Bruce Bowen hasn’t averaged more than .5 steals a game in like ten years. I think we need someone who can get the ball where it needs to go, not take the shot himself. A playmaker not a scorer, how can he blend his game with RIP’s constant movement we’ll just have to see.

Well, the worst part about this, is that Sheed is definitely gone soon. If not during the regular season, the end of the season for sure. I am going to miss this core, it is a crying shame we didn’t win more than 1.

Americ..
AllStar game is a pickup game, exactly why it shows how much AI HATES to lose!!
I didn’t say AI is a good defender because he has more steals!
Do you really think Chauncy is a good defender? Our defense was good because we have good team defense. Chauncy lets most point guards get by him anyways. Name one great defender that’s a point guards?? You need help inside and on pick and rolls. Exactly why when ben was in his prime we are a great team on D. No point guard can stop guards like Chris Paul alone, you need quickness to at least stay with them. As far as I know, not many point guards besides Billups have a good post up game. So we are fine on defense.

Just got off the phone with an inside source with the Pistons. The deal is finalized. The way the person I had spoken to sounded, Chauncey had an pretty big interest in going to Denver (his hometown).
Team seems excited to have A.I.. He brings a new scoring/slashing option to the Pistons.
Dyess will more than likely be back very soon, however Cheikh Samb may not be. Cheikh was very behind on his offseason workouts and was slower than he’s been in past years.
Look for Stuckey to start tonight against the Bobcats as well as Alex Acker coming off the bench.

NO Way. IVerson is not a Piston type player. We don’t need a gunner. He don’t need someone who doesn’t know the teams strengths. ANd Dyess…Damn Dyess deserves better. The last 4 playoffs, Dyess has left it all out there

1. Leadership. (Seeing how we kinda traded our LEADER!)
2. A 2009 title.
3. The team’s blue collar toughness.
4. The Core’s dream of a legacy.
5. One of the classiest guys in the game.
6. ‘Dyess’ chance of winning a ring.
7. The Pistons mentality that it takes a TEAM to win, not a superstar.
8. The dynamic duo.
9. And the list goes on and on…

I wonder how the rest of the guys feel about this?

Please tell me this is just a nightmare and I’ll wake up and it will all go away.

gmac
you’re right man. you never mentioned steals in your post, that’s my fault. this whole thing is just playing with my emotions, and usually I’m very logical. So sorry about that, although I do believe everything I said about him is true I don’t like his defense. I think Chauncey could handle CP3, in fact he has, but I agree with the fluidics tht Chauncey struggled with Rondo’s quickness.

I’m a little bit calmer and more willing to give AI a chance, but I don’t like this move I think there are better guards out there we might have got for cheaper. I keep wondering if Joe D ever made a move for Deron Williams? OH well no use dwelling on that. I’ll miss Chauncey a lot and cheer for him when he comes back, but I can’t give up Dyess and this better not be a throwaway year for Joe just so he can make a run at DWADE Lebron and Bosh as free agents.

1) Dyess is supposedly getting bought out by Denver and will re-sign with Detroit after the 30 day time period. So essentially we are only trading Billups and Samb (a project) and keeping our depth on the bench.

2) While I hate to see Billups go, he has played very subpar in the playoffs two years running, particularly against Cleveland (injury or not). He’s definitely the captain and a huge reason they have won so many games, but he kind of lost it in the playoffs the last few years and I don’t necessarily want to trust he’ll get his 2004 form back and watch him not for a third straight year. Not to mention Rodney Stuckey basically punched his ticket out of town. While I realize its only two games he has looked PHENOMENAL this season.

3) AI wants a ring now, and Detroit offers him a way better chance than Denver. His coexistence with Rip will definitely be interesting.

4) After this season, AI 21.93 and Sheed 13.68 comes off the book. Maybe they can resign one or both at reasonable rates, but if not that’s a TON of cap space to do stuff with (LEBRON in 2010!!!!). FYI, I examined his deal and the fact that Ben Wallace makes $90,000 more than LeBron this year is freaken hysterical. Billups deal wasn’t really that terrible as that “3rd year” was really a team option so is only 12.1 and 13.1 after this year. Still, AI give you way more flexibility.

5) Bottom line is that this give Detroit a HUGE lift for this year and chance at a ring and additionally gives them incredible flexibility for the future as they have nothing tied to AI if this experiment implodes. Plus they have Rodney Stuckey waiting in the wings to run this team.

Amanda
Agree with most of you’re list, I don’t know if we can say bye to a title we haven’t had in like 5 years, but I get what you mean by that

And who knows, maybe it is a nightmare. Maybe we are all in Antonio Mcdyess subconscious where he is dreaming all of this up and when he wakes up he is waking up to a world where the core is still in tact, he already has 4 rings working on his 5th, and the Sheed rule has been abolished because it was stupid.

Man I really need to get back to studying, Joe D, you’re move is messing with my future.

I couldn’t believe this move when I first saw it, it should be a very interesting year to say the least. My thoughts on the trade are up on my blog. I can’t wait to see AI in a pistons uni, and wish Chauncey all the best in Denver.

My first reaction was bad, but after looking at the numbers, this was a great trade by Joe D.

Everyone knows Billups and AI are both on the decline. But even in their primes, AI was and still is a better overall player than Chauncey Billups.

Plus, Billups has another 3-4 years on contract, AI’s contract is up this summer. Rasheed’s contract is up this summer, and I don’t know the circumstances with Rip Hamilton, but he could become a FA next year too.

Leaving a huge pile of money to throw at either Kobe this offseason, Lebron in 2010, or a couple star players to roll with Stuckey, AJ, and Tayshaun.

This is a great move by Dumars, looking out for the future of this team rather than the quick fix.

Amanda, I think I’m feeling exactly what you are right now. My life revolves around Chauncey and I am still in utter shock. I immediately got phone calls, texts and e-mails from both friends and business associates who knew I’d be ready to stick my head in the oven 🙁

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-1/Joe-Dumars-Strikes-Again.html.
did u know that the pistons just saved sooooo much monney if rip doesnt opt out this year and if sheed doesnt resign or resigns for one year then the pistons could get bosh and lebron both for max contracts!!! its unlikely to get both but even wade or soooo many free agents. so many good players available.

Why are we all focusing on cap room? you all seem happier about the $30+ million salary loss than the addition of a phenominal scorer with potential to win this team a championship. I’m not trying to start an argument, I’d just like to know some of the reasons you don’t like this trade. The only possible reason I could think of is our lack of a genuine point guard. Iverson is an upgrade from Billups and can help this team win.

KG I second your statement, although I think some fans were looking for a change more than a superstar.

Joe
This works from a financial standpoint, but as a player I don’t like AI coming here I don’t think he can help with a ship though anything’s possible. But I think the fact people are thinking about free agents signals how some fans don’t see AI as the missing piece, I know I don’t (but I’m going to keep offering the disclaimer that it is possible)

He can’t play d, we have enough scorers on this team and we don’t need a volume scorer at the position that is supposed to get the ball where it needs to go, he’s old, he wants to win a championship, but it has yet to be seen whether he’ll sacrifice stats to do it. Especially with the way RIP plays, we need a playmaker not a scorer. AS well as no training camp together can really hurt even if the trade is this early

when someone said that the blue collar toughness is lost do you not know about AI? how he had so many injuries and yet he is still in the game and being undersized. Anyway i wonder how Rip is going to handle this, he and chauncey had such a good connection and AI is going to have to be just as effective to keep Rip scoring good. Also, how would the lineup look? AI is not a pure point guard and he creates his own shots. If we ask AI to be a passer first how affective can he be?

gmac hahaha but we thought we had time to develop Darko we didn’t need Bosh back then though Bosh to me is kinda soft.

Also someone correct me if I’m getting the facts wrong, but didn’t Denver offer Allen Iverson over the summer and Joe D turn it down because he wanted Carmelo? I could be wrong but if that is the case then this seems to be a trade for the sake of trade

We drafted Amir to develop him. It’s not about needs or time. It’s about seeing the right player out of Melo, Wade, Bosh and Darko…
Anyways. Getting Stuckey’s draft pick with the darko trade ain’t bad.

Billups Played HUGE in the finals. Iverson is a Star yet but takes way too many shots and isn’t a great team player. He isn’t a proven champion that Billulps is. I thought this team this year with a new coach had a chance at the Finals. Now i know they don’t.

at the time many people thought Darko was going to be at the level the others are but they also saw him as a project for the future. He could block, he could shoot the ball with range, but he was very young, so the Pistons thought he could be a great player with the veterans guiding him, it just didn’t turn out that way, but he is a solid player in terms of defense and shot blocking now. But as you can see teams are less likely to take chances on overseas players who are more hype than substance. Which is why I agree with your point about sometimes drafting on potential is a huge gamble, sometimes it works out Dwight Howard for example. Although good can come from bad as you point out with the Rodney Stuckey thing, although some say because we have Rodney that is why Chauncey was expendable, so by the tranitive property Darko cost us Chauncey.

AI hasn’t yet proven he can be a legitimate defender – it doesn’t mean he can’t be one. In the past Iverson played on teams averaging 40 minutes per game as a primary scorer. With Hamilton and Stuckey sharing minutes, as well as 4 other players on the floor that can score, there should be less pressure on him to produce. Passing should become more common and expect Curry to get him in a defensive state of mind.

I used to hate AI too, as much as I hate Kobe. They were selfish ball hoggers. But understand , he never played with a good team with good character players. But my respect for AI came many years ago when Jorden played his last All Star Game, Jordon was ALMOST gonna be the hero for hitting that fade way, because AI played like it was a playoff game. (East still lost) AI plays hard, he HATES to lose. That’s exactly the person we need on the team even for just a year.
I still don’t like Kobe much now, but he’s changed. He doesn’t even look for his shot in the first quarter now. It really depends on who you play with and who you think the team will/can accomplish.
I never thought we could win this year anyways. So lets see what we can do now, with a bright future secured.

I think his D was just fine in Philly. As for Denver, you could have put the best defender in the league on that team, he would still look bad because they didn’t play d as a whole.
Now I’m not saying he’s got great D, but he’ll get his steals that turn to fast break points.

oh my god, My heart is crying out loud. I cant believe this, this is just a shock a because we didnt see it coming. The season has barely begun, how could you possibly know what Chauncey is capable of this year, AI brings a different element to the team, its not going to be the same, just wait and see by the end of the season this will be a whole other team, there will only be the youngsters and AI, its not cute and I cant believe that this has happened like this, the Pistons dont have superstars, they dont’t care who get the glory, but it will change now ,just wait and see!!!

This is a great move… we’re about to see the Pistons become the most dominant team in the league (if they weren’t already). Playing at a faster tempo will mean more dunks and layups for the athletic guys on the team, mainly Prince, Amir, and Maxiell. Defensively, I don’t think this will be a big change. Billups was good, but he always had the benefit of playing with dominant defenders who made his job easier. AI is always on eof the league leaders in steals, and he’ll improve our defense against fast PG’s like Tony Parker or Chris Paul. If we meet the Lakers in the finals, he’ll run circles around Derek Fisher. And of course there’s also the cap room that this move will open up for us in the future. Trust me, this is a great move.

I agree this is a great move Joe, but I see the main test being whether or not he can guard the likes of Calderon, Miller and eventually Chris Paul. Iverson getting his head down and working hard on defense may be the key to this trade’s success.

for those thinking this was a good trade do you remember how the tigers traded for miguel cabrara thinking this all star was great and look what happened. Bringing in someone who needs to be effective will not help this team

I have the utmost respect for Chauncey Billups and appreciate everything he has done for this team. Class act all the way. However, I am excited to see how this will play out for the Pistons, not only for this season but for the future as well. Carlos Boozer in a Pistons uniform is a sweet image.

yeah, we may have given up a something on defense, but hey, 80% Detroit Pistons defense is still better than the 100% defense of what other teams bring to the court.

how about questioning the other team’s defense, could you imagine how they would defend a double team magnet, the best player moving without the ball, a versatile swingman who’d might as well be the point guard, a big man who can bring it down low as well shoot the three and make smart passes, and an athletic freak who has a knack of getting offensive boards, not to mention the bench(who could very well be starters on another team)? I can’t.

If AI buys into the team mantra of ‘WE WORK AS ONE’, and fits into the team chemistry, I like our chances of winning the ship, otherwise, he could still be traded in febuary (or can he?).

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE TRADE NOW, ALL YOU HATERS OF CHAUNCEY?? we were freakin bad and its all his fault. it messed up out chemistry and now we are one of the worst teams. ENJOY IT! ITS ALL YOUR FAULT! and all of you wanted chauncey to leave. shame on you. he took them to eastern conf. while we were getting swept first round